DEPARTMENT OF CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION I. MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS The Department of Curriculum and Instruction experienced a productive and successful year in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and service. Uniformly high ratings were given to faculty by the majority of students. In the area of scholarship, some 37 books, book chapters, and articles were published. Faculty gave 75 presentations at the annual conferences of international, national, regional, state, and local professional educators. Forty-three grant proposals received funding with $557,112 awarded to the North Carolina School Health Program and $257,500 awarded to the Adult Basic Skills project. Several faculty members are in their third year of funding for their NSF grant: North Carolina NAEP: Improving Mathematics Content and Methods Courses in the amount of $199,984. Several department faculty have collaborated with the Department of Biological Sciences in a successful grant application to NSF for Project SMILE in the amount of $449,827. Department faculty also received $101,787 in SALT grants. The MA in Elementary Education remains one of several masters programs receiving continued funding from the Peace Corps. Professional Development School (PDS) relationships continue at the middle grade level in Avery County Middle School with similar partnerships underway in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Wilkes, Watauga counties. Similar PDS relationships in the secondary social studies program area continue in Avery and Ashe Counties. A pilot partnership between the elementary block 2 program and the Blowing Rock Elementary School began in fall 2009. Therein, all classes in block 2 have been offered on site in Blowing Rock. Program Advisory Committees (PAC) for the middle level and elementary program met twice during the academic year. The development of performance-based assessments, common assignments, and the taskstream management system monitoring student progress in both the elementary and middle grades programs continue. The TK20 system was piloted in the fall and will be fully implemented in academic year 2010-2011. The Academic Support and Retention Committee monitoring student progress in the undergraduate and graduate programs in elementary education met during the current year to review the progress of students encountering difficulty meeting program expectations. Service was provided at all levels of the university and to the profession. These include service on state and national boards and committees. Faculty also provided service at school in-service days, teacher institutes, and consultations to public school systems. One member of the faculty in the department serves the College of Education by holding the position of Associate Dean. One faculty member received the NC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching, a second received the Reich College of Education Outstanding Teaching Award, a third received the Student Government Outstanding Teaching Award, and a fourth received the Rennie Brantz First-Year Seminar Teaching Award. As a result of DPI initiatives creating new teaching standards, the department has empowered several task forces to propose substantial revisions in the curricula of programs housed in the department. Curriculum proposals were developed and submitted to the AP&P process in the fall 2009 and will go into effect in fall 2010. Similarly, the university s initiative to revise its general education curriculum necessitated a restructuring of program area general core requirements. The department s assistant chair and program coordinators worked diligently to establish dialogue with colleagues in other colleges to carve a path through the newly created general education perspectives and themes to allow majors to meet core requirements and satisfy DPI competencies required for licensure. Efforts are ongoing to revision the department s graduate programs in light of new DPI standards.
Changes in core requirements have also created the opportunity for the elementary program area to offer a 3sh directed elective; that is, a category from which majors will be able to select a 3sh course from among four or five alternatives in any given semester (e.g., science, ELL, social studies). C&I faculty served on a professional core taskforce charged which developed a new course sequence aligned with changes in DPI standards for teacher education. The department revised its tenure document to include guidelines for promotion to full professor. The department, beginning in spring 2011, will assume full responsibility for GS 4401: Science and Science Teaching in the Elementary School. The educational media program area has made significant strides in developing alternative delivery systems in graduate education. Courses in media literacy, distance learning: telecommunications: global media and in two certificate programs are being offered through extension in a web-based format both nationally and internationally. The Business Education program continues its efforts to recruit students and develop alternative delivery systems to meet the needs of lateral entry students seeking licensure in the business field. All major courses are now available in a web-based format. The program, in concert with the Office of Extension, developed an totally online undergraduate program scheduled for delivery in fall 2010. Similarly, the program area is in the process of developing a Master s of Arts in Teaching (MAT). The Health Education program maintains a second academic concentration (SAC) in Human Studies in concert with the physical education program area housed in HLES. The SAC is designed to attract physical education majors to a health endorsement. Enrollment in health education courses has grown significantly as a result of this effort. Additionally, the health education program offered a course in general education beginning in fall 2009. This is the first time a course in the college has been offered in general education. Two sections of the course will be offered in fall 2010. Department faculty served as members of the Task Force charged with the development of an ELL program for program area majors A special topics course, Differentiating Instruction for the ELL Student, has been offered at off campus sites for full time daytime cohorts in the elementary program at Caldwell Community College. The 20/20 Community Service/Service Learning program, a requirement for graduation for all elementary education majors, offered its third alternative spring break on the Cherokee Reservation in western North Carolina. Faculty serve as members of a college task force to assist in the design of a new college of education. The department conducted nationwide searches to fill four tenure-track positions in Business Education, Assessment, Diversity, and Mathematics Education. The successful searches resulted in the hiring of a minority faculty member. In cooperation with the Office of Extension, the department offers off-campus programming at the undergraduate level in elementary and middle grades education. Elementary, middle grades, and curriculum specialist programs are offered at the master s level. Graduate and undergraduate programs are offered at sites in Yadkinville, Wilkes, Catawba Valley, Caldwell, Western Piedmont and Surry Community Colleges. The full time/daytime elementary education program which began at Caldwell
Community College in the spring 2007 now supports five such programs with a sixth full time daytime program scheduled to begin in spring 2011. Classes were continued as part of the collaborative Birth- Kindergarten teacher licensure program with the Departments of Language, Reading and Exceptionalities, and Family and Consumer Sciences. A collaborative graduate program in Early Childhood Education is ongoing as well as a collaborative undergraduate B-K program at off campus sites. While the department s recruitment and retention efforts have continued, overall undergraduate enrollment has been affected by the current economy, by a freeze on teacher hiring, and by the decisions of students to remain closer to home or to attend community colleges. Total undergraduate enrollment (on and off campus) between the fall of 2008 and fall 2009 for all programs housed in the department has decreased by 7% (1346 in 2009; 1442 in 2008). In academic year 2009-2010 the department generated 22,604 student credit hours or 46.5% of the total generated by the college. Forty percent of the college s total student population resides in programs housed in the department. Enrollment in the middle grades program has decreased by about 5% between 2008 and 2009 (177/168), elementary education has remained virtually stable (1056/1059) during the same time period. Business education has decreased in enrollment by 45% (110/61) possibly as a result of recoding business majors and business education majors. The health education has shown a decrease in enrollment of 17% (23/19). Despite a drop in majors in business education and health education, both programs have conservable enrollment in classes serving majors in other program areas, e.g., BE 3340: Business Communication and HED 3645: Teaching Health Education in the Elementary School. The B.S. in Elementary Education continues to be the largest program in the department, the college, and among the largest in the university. Interest and enrollment in the masters programs in elementary education, middle grades, curriculum specialist, and media studies in off-campus settings has remained stable. Given the approval of the Office of Academic Affairs and the continued support of the Dean s Office, a permanent coordinator position has been funded to supervise early field experiences in extension for the elementary and middle grades programs. Funding for transporting elementary majors to Burke, Caldwell and Wilkes Counties for a multicultural field experience has been provided. Utilizing funds generated through off-campus activity, instructional materials used in Curriculum and Instruction courses were updated through the purchase of videotapes, print materials and other instructional resources. A large number of faculty participated in faculty development activities. All faculty members requesting funds for professional travel received either substantial or total funding. Degree programs housed in the department continue to be selected by significant numbers of Teaching Fellow recipients. II. MAJOR CHALLENGES Major challenges encountered in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction during the 2009-2010 academic year include: (1) the lack of adequate funding for salaries, particularly for those in the assistant professor rank, as well as full time adjunct faculty, and, of course, staff; (2) the need to fill tenure-track and adjunct positions, exacerbated by newly established compensation caps, to ensure program continuity and integrity, meet the department s extension demands, further develop the department s research potential, and to meet ever- increasing
service responsibilities; (3) increasing the number of majors in both business education and health education; (4) the need to provide adequate funding to maintain the department s Professional Development School initiatives; (5) the lack of adequate office space; lack of adequate space to house grant activity; (6) the need to carefully implement an assessment system (TK20) for the college s undergraduate and graduate programs; (7) the immediate need to further develop an ESL alternative for program area majors; (8) the need to consider changes in degree programs in light of changes in DPI standards at both the undergraduate and graduate levels; (9) the need to maintain the level of per course supplemental funding for the department s extension activity without which expansion of off campus programming in C&I will come to a halt; (10) a need to further refine field experiences in light of changes anticipated in the professional core. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 2010-2011 The Department of Curriculum and Instruction will continue to face many challenges in the next few years, particularly in light of the compression of the education dollar. The following are representative of major themes to be addressed: 1. FACULTY STAFFING: The considerable growth in off-campus undergraduate and graduate student enrollments in programs housed in the department has created a need for highly qualified full-time faculty. Enrollment in all programs housed in the department has averaged 1563 between fall 2005 and fall 2009. In the fall 2009, 1514 students were enrolled in majors housed in the department. This total decreased by 3% since fall 2007. While total enrollment oncampus has shown a slight decrease, enrollment in the elementary education and middle grades program has increased in off-campus sites as a result of the 2+2 initiative involving ASU and partnership community colleges in the university s service region. Currently, students are enrolled in the elementary and middle grades programs at Yadkinville, Wilkes, Caldwell, Western Piedmont, Catawba and Surry County Community Colleges. The department s initial full time/daytime program at Caldwell Community College began in the spring 2007 and is now scheduled to begin its sixth cohort in spring 2011. In addition, the department has experienced an increase in enrollment in its Advanced Masters degree programs in middle grades, elementary, and curriculum specialist at off campus sites. Faculty positions must be maintained to allow the continued success of departmental programs. The department s assumption of GS 4401 will necessitate the need for an additional faculty position. Additional office space and other resources (travel funds, computers, etc.) to support these positions will also be needed. 2. CURRICULUM: Efforts will focus on a continued examination of all curricula particularly at the graduate level. Successful implementation of the professional core, the RCOE Conceptual Framework will continue to receive attention. Results from follow-up studies and other formal and informal evaluation methods will be utilized to upgrade and improve curricular offerings. Special emphasis will be placed on refining performance-based assessments, and integrating multicultural perspectives and technology applications in all courses, particularly methods courses. An ESL Second Academic Concentration (SAC) for elementary education majors will be further developed. The business education program area will offer its undergraduate program in extension in a totally online format. A review of the current graduate program in elementary education will be initiated. Professional Development Schools (partnership schools) will be further developed in elementary undergraduate program. Particular
attention will be paid to ensuring that the quality of off-campus undergraduate programs is maintained and provides the place-bound student with an exemplary undergraduate experience. 3. ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY SYSTEMS: The department will continue to provide field-based courses and degree programs for students (graduate and undergraduate) seeking to improve their skills and increase their knowledge. Several types of new internship/student teacher plans, including international experiences will be either continued or expanded. Program areas will review their use of web-delivered and/or web-supported programming. 4. FACULTY DEVELOPMENT: Major efforts will continue to provide resources and opportunities for faculty development activities. The great variety of degree and certification programs in the department make it especially important that faculty members be prepared to teach effectively in more than one area and at more than one preparation level (graduate as well as undergraduate). Emphasis will be placed on developing new skills and knowledge, as well as updating existing areas of expertise. 5. INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY: Recognizing the importance of traditional and emerging technologies of instruction, the department will seek to effectively and efficiently integrate these technologies into the teaching/learning process. This process will include an understanding of technology as both product and process including: awareness of media characteristics and attributes; the interaction between these elements and the nature and needs of various learner groups; and the impact of the organizational climate on technology and teaching, including factors such as physical environment and the personality and perceptions of students and teachers as they relate to technology. 6. STUDENT RECRUITMENT: The department will continue to engage in recruitment efforts to attract and retain quality undergraduate and graduate students and on the recruitment of culturally diverse student populations. Special efforts will continue to focus on selected oncampus undergraduate programs where enrollment has declined. Efforts will be made to further nurture graduate programs both on and off-campus where the implementation of advanced masters programs have stimulated enrollment. The department will continue to upgrade its recruitment materials including print and non-print formats. Efforts will be made to include video of current students on the department s website and to work with the college of education s efforts to refine its website. 7. FOLLOW-UP STUDIES: The department will continue to use information obtained in follow-up studies to improve all programs. The newly implemented formal graduate review process will be utilized to obtain feedback on all graduate programs. Data collected by the Dean s office from graduates and student teachers will also be utilized. These data will a part of an overall assessment plan to ascertain the quality of all programs. The department will provide support for students entering the workforce as a part of the value added initiative. 8. DEPARTMENTAL FUNCTIONING: The department will review its general functioning through its traditional committee structure and program area coordinator format. The effectiveness of the committees and coordinator roles will be evaluated annually and improvements made based on feedback. Particular attention will be focused on the advisability of the development of a common evaluation instrument.
V. Staff and EPA Nonfaculty Activity Charyn Richards (Administrative Services Specialist) The last Friday of every month Ms. Richards attends the Departmental/Research Administrative Assistants Meeting which is a monthly training session regarding fiscal responsibilities and policies and procedures as they relate to budgets. Ms. Richards also attended a training session in Basic Records Management and one session of Banner Training in the utilization of the new Reconciliation Form. The other unusual activity that I did was the handling and coordinating of five searches for open positions in the department. Regina Parnell (Administrative Support Specialist), has enhanced her job skills by attending the following computer workshops: What s New in Office 2007 for Windows 8/19/09 Basic Records Management 4/20/10 Intro to Excel 5/18/10